Charles Leclerc has called on Ferrari to understand their car better, after a first half of 2023 that has fallen "very far" below expectations. Following a poor 2020 season in which Ferrari finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship, the Scuderia improved to third in 2021, before finishing second in 2022 – a year in which Leclerc scored the team's first win since 2019. With Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz having won a total of four races in 2022, hopes were high at Maranello of a title tilt this year. Alas for the Scuderia, Red Bull has won every race of 2023 so far, with Ferrari languishing in fourth place and not looking close to challenging the drinks-backed outfit for race wins. Asked for his appraisal of Ferrari's 2023 season so far, Leclerc said objectives had not been met, though he praised the team for the speed with which new parts and updates had been produced. "It didn't go well," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365 , when asked how he felt the first half of 2023 had gone for Ferrari. "Before the first race, the target was to do a step better, compared to last year, which was to win the World Championship. "If we look at the first half of the year, we are very far from where we put our expectations before the season. "On the other hand, as soon as we understood that, we reset it and there was an incredible reaction from the team. "They brought upgrades, sometimes a month and a half earlier, and this requires a lot of effort from everybody at Maranello."
Ferrari blowing hot and cold
Leclerc added that Ferrari still need to better understand the SF-23, noting that he had expected to be slower at the Belgian Grand Prix, but faster at the preceding Hungarian Grand Prix, whose Hungaroring circuit is replete with slow corners. "We expected to be much more competitive in Budapest than on a track like here, and in the end, it's the opposite," said Leclerc. "These are things that we need to look at because maybe we haven’t optimised the package in races like Budapest, and maybe we've done something that was surprisingly good on a track like here. "It's good to finish on a positive note the first part of the season, and now we will take the summer break to try to analyse those two last races and hopefully maximise the package at all races for the second half of the season."
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